84 Field Columbian Museum — Anthropology, Vol. VIII. 



20. POOKONGHOYA AND HIS BROTHER AS THIEVES.' 



Aliksai! At Shong6pavi they were living; at the place where 

 Shongopavi used to be and where there are still the ruins of the old 

 village, they were living. North of the village, but close by, lived 

 P6okong^ and his brother. They lived there with their grandmother. 

 Often they would play with their ball, and one time they were also 

 playing with their ball, striking it, and playing with it towards Toriva. 

 When they arrived here they were thirsty, and went into the spring 

 to drink water. When they had satisfied their thirst they were 

 going to continue their playing, when they saw a lot of bahos at the 

 place where the water comes out. "Let us take these along," the 

 younger brother said, and taking one of the bd,hos, he swallowed it. 

 "You swallow one too," he then said to his elder brother; but by this 

 time the latter discovered in the recess in the rocks somewhat high 

 up, some potsherds, or bowls, with different kinds of paints which 

 the Flute priests had deposited there. "Let us take some of this," 

 he said to his younger brother, whereupon he put into his ball, through 

 little holes and openings that had been made in the buckskin cover- 

 ing through long usage, some of each kind of paint ._ After having 

 put the paints into the ball he sewed up the holes. Hereupon he 

 replaced the ball again and then said to his brother: "Now let us 

 go, and before we will get home it will rain if we continue to beat our 

 ball now in this way. " 



So they started, beating the ball towards the Corn-Ear Bluffs that 

 are still standing at the place where the old village of Mish6ngnovi 

 used to be. One of the brothers was beating the ball forward and the 

 other one backward, and in this way they proceeded to the village. 

 Before they had reached the village, the people of Mishongnovi had 

 discovered them. They were beating their ball around north of the 

 village for a little while, the children of the village looking on and 

 shouting 'at them. Hereupon they entered the village and kept 

 beating their ball through the village. All at once they entered one 

 of the kivas and found that the Flute priests were assembled in this 

 kiva for their ceremony. In one of the trays that were standing on 

 the floor was lying a lightning frame, thunder board, netted water 

 jug, etc. This tray they grabbed and went out. None of the priests 

 said anything. 



Hereupon they went into another kiya where the Snake priests 



' Told by K<ihkuima (Shupatilavi) . 



2 P6okong and the diminutive form Pookonghoya are used promiscuously by the Hopi, as 

 mav be seen in several of these tales. 



